Carriers for pirns and other articles

ABSTRACT

A carrier easily securable within, and quickly releasable from, a standard pirn or like tubular article having an internal annular flange member within an otherwise hollow tubular body. The carrier is secured by means of a flexible washer which once positioned inside of the annular flange is held in locking engagement with the assistance of an intermediate member abutting the washer to prevent it from flexing. A stabilizing collar secures the flange from the other side thus clamping the flange between washer and collar. The pirn or other article may be released by shifting the washer away from the intermediate supporting member to allow the washer to flex thus permitting the withdrawal of the carrier. In another embodiment, the carrier is designed to be placed over a carried member having an external flange. The washer flexes during engagement to pass over the flange to the carrying position and is prevented from flexing in the opposite direction by an abutting member until the carrier is released.

United States Patent [m Lafon d l l CARRIERS FUR PIRNS AND OTHERARTICLES Gerard L. Lafond. 'lt ll Hunterdon Dr.. Cinnaminson. NJ. 08077221 Filed: on. s, 1973 211 ApplNo.:404,372

[76] Inventor:

[52] U.S. Cl r. 294/93; 269/49 [5H Int. Cl. B66c H54 [58] Field ofSearch 294/86 R. 93, 94, 96, 99 R, 294/89, I03 CG; 57/52. 53; 214/658,DIG. 3,

DIG. 4; 242/l29.7, 129.7]. I30, l30.l, 68.3;

Primary Exuminer-Evon C. Blunk Axsislant Examiner-Johnny D CherryAttorney. Agent or Firm-Woodcock Washburn, Kurtz & Mackiewicz [Ill3,888,537

[ June 10, 1975 5n ABSTRACT A carrier easily securable within, andquickly releasable from, a standard pirn or like tubular article havingan internal annular flange member within an otherwise hollow tubularbody. The carrier is secured by means of a flexible washer which oncepositioned inside of the annular flange is held in locking engagementwith the assistance of an intermediate member abutting the washer toprevent it from flexing. A stabilizing collar secures the flange fromthe other side thus clamping the flange between washer and collar. Thepirn or other article may be released by shifting the washer away fromthe intermediate supporting member to allow the washer to flex thuspermitting the withdrawal of the carrier.

In another embodiment, the carrier is designed to be placed over acarried member having an external flange. The washer flexes duringengagement to pass over the flange to the carrying position and isprevented from flexing in the opposite direction by an abutting memberuntil the carrier is released.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUMIOIQIs 6.888.537 SHEET 1PATENTEDJUH 1 0 1975 SHEET CARRIERS FOR PIRNS AND OTHER ARTICLESBACKGROUND OF THF. INVEN'IION In knitting mills. yarn processing mills.and the like. it is necessary to carry spooled yarn on pirns duringvarious stages of the preknitting operation. A standard ty pe of pirn isequipped with an internal annular flange near one end which serves as anaid in gripping the pirn. it being important that the spooled yarn isnot touched or clamped in any manner. Presently. simple handles having a90 projecting rod with a bent hooking tip are commonly used to carrypirns; the rod being inserted into the flanged end of the pirn and bymeans of the hooking tip. the flange is engaged to provide some grippingpower. Unfortunately. when using such a device, the hooking tip caneasily slide from within the flange. causing the pirns to be droppedwhen tilted, thus resulting in loss of production time and damaged yarn.

Accordingly. it is an object of the subject invention to develop acarrier for pirns or similar articles which may be easily secured in acarrying position so that the article may be securely carried.

It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a carrier forpirns or similar articles which may be readily engaged. and quicklyreleased from the article with a minimum of effort without sacrificingsure gripping ability.

It is yet another object of the subject invention to provide a carrierfor pirns or similar articles which may be securely carried by one handand in which the carrier may be released from the article by the thumbor a finger of the carrying hand.

In accordance with the above objects. the subject carrier has beendeveloped to be readily insertable into locking engagement within a pirnor similar article and upon actuation ofa release lever. may be quicklydisengaged from the article. A standard type of tubular pirn has anannular ring or flange within the central bore in close proximity to oneend of the pirn which must be present for one of the embodiments of thesubject invention.

In this embodiment, the pirn carrier has a body and carrying portion towhich a shaft is slideably engaged. The principal parts of the subjectinvention are disposed about the shaft with a principal component of thedevice being a leather washer, the center portion of which is firmlysecured at a point along the shaft. The washer diameter is greater thanthe shaft diameter. thus permitting the outer areas of the washer toflex. The carrier has an intermediate or nose member which iscircumferentially mounted on the shaft. The washer in its unactuatedposition is biased to abut against a portion of the nose member which isof less diameter than the washer and in fact is ofthe approximate innerdiameter of the pirn annular flange. A stabilizing collar iscircumferentially mounted around a portion of the intermediate memberand is biased to a position where the forward part of the collar isapproximately coextensive with the washer.

In the embodiment as above described. when the carrier is inserted intothe pirn bore. the annular flange of the pirn engages the stabilizingcollar and as pressure is applied and the bias of the collar isovercome. the annular flange passes oter the leather washer. whichbecause of its flexibility is bent back by the flange. Once the flangehas cleared the leather washer. the washer flexure ceases and when thepressure against the stabilizing collar is eliminated allowing thecollar to push the flange back toward the entry end of the shaft. theflange will impact against the washer which is buttressed by theintermediate member to prevent it from flexing in the other direction torelease the flange. In this manner the flange is secured between thestabiliz ing collar and the leather washer is buttressed by theintermediate member.

For use in releasing the connection. the body portion which slideablyengages the shaft is provided with an actuating lever which whenpressured with a thumb or finger will cause the shaft to be shiftedoutwardly from the pirn bore. This draws the washer away from thebuttressing effect of the intermediate member to allow the washer toflex in a direction opposite from that when the pirn carrier wasinserted thus allowing the annular flange to pass over the leatherwasher to permit the pirn carrier to be withdrawn from the pirn bore.

In another embodiment. the carrier is designed to be used with an objectwhich has an external flange. Such a flange may be attached to acylindrical member simi lar to a pirn which might be hollow or solid.The cylindrical member may comprise the entire article or only a partthereof if. for example. it is a neck portion or nub extending from thearticle.

In this embodiment. the washer is not mounted to the shaft but issecured to an intermediate member which is secured at the shaft end andhas a portion with an inside diameter sufficient to allow it to passover the cylindrical member or receiving portions of the object to becarried. The washer extends inwardly therefrom and has an inner diameterwhich is less than the outer diameter of the flange to be engaged. Acollar which is slideably mounted on the shaft encircles theintermediate member and terminates in a U-shaped portion which serves tobuttress the washer against flexing in the manner of the intermediatemember of the previously described embodiment which is particularlyadapted for pirns.

As the carrier engages the object. the washer flexes as it passes overthe flange and once past the flange. it is prevented from flexing in theopposite direction to pass back. by the U-shaped portion of the collar.Thus the object may be lifted with the washer. as buttressed by thecollar, resisting the shear forces placed on it by the flange.

The carrier is released as described in the earlier embodiment by meansof an actuating lever which causes the shaft to shift which effectivelycreates a gap between washer and the impact area of the U-shaped portionof the collar, thus creating a gap between the two and permitting thewasher to flex and pass over the flange.

The carriers as described in the above two principal embodiments havemany applications. For example. along with uses previously described.they may be utilized to carry extremely high temperature items. andwhich cannot be otherwise touched. objects which are difficult to reachand items which must be handled with the greatest of care.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an isometric view of thecarrier and includes a section portion of a standard type of pirn;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the carrier and pirn being engagedin locking position as the carrier is being inserted.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 and shows the carrier locked in engagementwith the pirn;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the nose cone or intermediate member ofthe carrier.

FIG. 5 shows the leather locking washer and is viewed along lines 5-5 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing the carrier being releasedfrom locking engagement with the pirn;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of another embodiment of the carrier;and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7 to illustratethe washer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As can be seen in FIG. 1, a carrier constructed inac cordance with an embodiment of the subject invention is shown inposition about to be inserted in the end of a pirn where it will becomelocked in engagement with the pirn which can then be readily lifted.even verti cally, without slipping from the grip of the carrier. Thecarrier may then be readily released when desired as will be described.

More particularly, the pirn carrier 10 has a two part shaft generallydesignated 11 comprising section 12, and entry section 14. A shaft cap16 is secured at the opposite end of the shaft from entry end 14.Circumferentially mounted on the shaft is an intermediate or nose member18 (see also FIGS. 2-4) which has a forward conic portion 20, joiningmembers 22 and a rear portion 24. Circumferentially mounted on theintermedi ate member 18 is a stabilizing collar 26 which is generallyU-shaped in cross section as shown and has a for- 35 ward face 27. Aleather washer 28 is secured to the shaft 1] in a manner which will bedescribed. The rear portion 24 of the intermediate member, with theshaft 11 slideably extending therethrough, is rigidly secured within anaperture of body member 30. A shroud 32 is mounted over the rear portion24 of the intermediate member and abuts body member 30.

The body member 30 is a right-angled member hav ing an angled slot 34into which lever arm 36 extends. The lever arm 36 is pivotally securedwithin the configuration of slot 34 by pin or screw means 38. A handle40 is mounted to body member 30 by means of bolt 42 upon which actuationlever arm 36 may rest but need not.

The two shaft sections 12 and 14 are secured by an internal screw 43extending from member 12 into the threaded aperture of section 14 andtogether secure the leather washer 28 in locking relation. The washer 28is preferably made of leather but can be constructed of plastic or othersubstitutes so long as it is flexible. It will be noted that itsdiameter is considerably greater than the shaft to permit it to flexwhen pressure is applied. As seen from FIG. 5. the washer has only asmall central aperture through which screw 43 extends. Cutaway portionsof the washer provide slots for the joining members 22 of theintermediate member 18.

The carrier 10 is designed to engage a pirn 44 of the design shown inFIG. I and the succeeding figures. The pirn 44 has a tubular body wall46 and in the proximity of one end of the bore there is an annularflange-like member 48 which must be a part of the pirn for reasons whichwill become apparent. It will be noted that the It) in engagement withcarrier 10 spring means 54 will bias collar 26 forward to where collarinner surface 55 abuts against ridge 57 of the intermediate member 18 sothat forward collar surface 27 is approximately coextensive with washer28. As also can be seen from FIG. 3. body member 30 has inserted at itsbottom. screw means 60 to rigidly secure the rear portion 24 of theintermediate member.

With reference to FIG. 2, the first step of inserting the carrier 10into the bore of pirn or bobbin 44 is shown. As the carrier I0 is beinginserted. the forward surface 27 of the stabilizing collar 26 will abutagainst flange 48 of the pirn. As pressure is applied. the bias fromspring member 54 will be overcome causing the stabilizing collar 26 tobe pushed away from leather washer 28. It will be noted from FIG. I thatin the resting position, the outward surface of leather washer 28 iscoextensive with the surface 27 of the stabilizing collar. As thepressure of the flange 48 forces the stabilizing collar 26 away fromleather washer 28, the flange causes the washer 28 to flex inwardly asshown by the phantom lines in FIG. 2. While the washer member 28 maypossess some rigidity, it will be appreciated that it must be flexibleenough to bend to allow flange 48 to pass over it. The diameter of theleather washer 28 may be approximately one-quarter of an inch greaterthan the inner diameter of flange member 48 which as men tioned isapproximately the same diameter as the forward section 20 ofintermediate member I8. Once the flange has passed over washer 28. thewasher 28 will return to its unflexed position only now being on theinside of pirn flange 48. As pressure between the pirn flange 48 andcollar 26 is eased. the collar 26 will force the flange 48, relativelyspeaking. back to a position where the flange 48 abuts against the innerside of leather washer 28 as seen in FIG. 3. Since leather washer 28 isabutted on its outside by forward portion 20 of the intermediate member,flange 48 will not be able to force the washer 28 to the reverse bowedor flexed position from that seen in FIG. 2. Thus. the flange 48 islocked in place between the washer member and the stabilizing collar 26,and the carrier I0 is thus engaged securely in pirn 44. Despite hardpulls on the handle 40, the carrier I0 will remain secured within thepirn 44 until released.

For the carrier 10 to be released from pirn 44. pressure is applied bythe thumb of the hand gripping han dle 40 at end portion 64 of lever 36.End portion 64 may be equipped with a leather or plastic thumb guard toprotect the thumb during the pressure applying movement. As lever 36 ispressed outwardly with respect to handle 40, the lower portion of thelever 66 will be forced outwardly from the body member 30 as the leverpivots about pivot point 38. As this occurs, as is best seen in FIG. 6,the bottom portion 66 of the lever will engage an extended cylindricalsurface 68 of cap member 16 thus exerting pressure on the shaft 11 inthe direction shown by the arrow on the shaft. The

cap 16 is necessarily securely mounted on shaft ll and cylindricalportions 68 may be reinforced by a washer or other means to allow thecap Hi to receive the pressure of the lever arm 36. As noted. aspressure is applied. the shaft 11 will be forced in the direction of thearrow pulling with it the washer 28 \thich is shown in FIG. 6 in itsextended position. As the washer 28 shifts. the pirn flange 48 is freedand the carrier 10 may be easily pulled from engagement with the pirn44. As shown in phantom. the leather washer 28 will eventually be pulledto the position where it will unflex once it is clear ofthe pirn flange48. it is at this time that the flange 48 is no longer restrained anddisengagement is easily accomplished.

ln an alternate embodiment in which the same reference numerals are usedto describe parts which are identical to those of the first embodiment.the carrier 69 has been designed to carry a member or object having anexternal flange which is engaged by the washer member. With respect toFIG. 7. the carried member 70 has a cylindrical projection 72 from whichprotrudes external flange 74.

The carrier 69 comprises a shaft 76 having a threaded extremity 78 whichengages washer holder or intermediate member 80. The washer 82 which isflexible and may be made of leather or substitute material, such aswasher 28 previously described, is attached to the member 80 by means ofscrews 84 or other means. It will be noted that the intermediate member80 projects out from the shaft 76 in a manner to accommodate thestructure of projection 72 for the carried member 70. An abutment memberor collar 86 is slideably mounted circumferentially relative to shaft 76and extends around the outside of member 80. At its extremities thereare U-shaped portions 87 which form an impact surface 88 to abut againstwasher 82 in the locking position. Body member 90 is similar to member30 previously described except it is rigidly secured to the collar 86.The release lever is substantially as was de scribed with respect tocarrier 10 and has a lower end 66 which functions as was previouslydescribed impacting against surface 68 of shaft cap 16 when the releaselever is actuated.

Spring member 92 is positioned between surfaces of member 80 and collar86 and serves to bias the washer 82 held by member 80 against the impactportion 88 of the collar 86.

With respect to FIG. 8, the washer member 82 is shown as being securedby four screws 84 to member 80. Notches 94 are provided in the washer 82to facilitate the flexing of the inner portion when not otherwiseconstrained.

In operation, the carrier 6) is inserted over the top of projection 72with the washer 82 passing with relative case since the surface ofmember 80 which abuts washer 82 is far enough from the inside portion ofthe washer 82 not to pre\ent it from flexing as it passes over theflange 74. Once past the flange. when the carrier 69 is lifted thewasher 82 will impact against the flange member 74 and being unable toflex because of the adjacent impact surface 88. the carrier 69 may beused to lift carried member 70. When the lifting force is released. thewasher 82 may slip away from flange 74 but when pressure is resumed. thewasher 82 will once again abut securely against flange 74.

When it is desired to release the carrier 69, the release lever isoperated in the manner previously described with respect to carrier 10so that its end 66 which is next to shaft 76 will impact against surface68, pulling the shaft 76 outwardly with member to overcome the biasingeffect of spring 92 thus creating a gap between the impact surface 88 ofabutment member 86 and the washer 82. This permits the washer to flexand allows it to pass over flange 74 as the carrier 69 is disengaged.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed. it will, of course, be understood that various modificationsmay be made without departing from the principle of the invention. Theappended claims are. therefore. intended to cover any suchmodifications, within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A carrier designed to securely engage a flanged member comprising:

a shaft;

a flexible washer-type member. a portion of which is fixed securelyrelative to said shaft and which when in the secured position abutsagainst the flange;

a member slideably mounted on said shaft which in the secured positionhas a portion which abuts against a portion of said washer-type memberto prevent it from flexing thus securing the flange; and

means communicating with said shaft to separate said slideable memberfrom the portion of said washertype member to which it abuts in thesecured position thereby allowing said washer-like member to be flexedand the flange disengaged.

2. The carrier of claim 1 in which the flanged member comprises aprojection with an external flange and the carrier further comprises anintermediate member secured to said shaft. said intermediate memberhaving a portion which has an inner diameter greater than the outerdiameter of said flange and having said washertype member securedthereto with an inner diameter that is less than the outer diameter ofsaid flange.

3. The carrier of claim 2 in which a spring extends between a surface ofsaid slideably mounted member and a surface of said intermediate memberand when said separation means is actuated said surfaces are drawncloser together relatively as said washer-type member is drawn apartfrom said portion of said slideable member which abuts against saidwasher-type member in the secured position.

4. The carrier of claim 3 including a body member and handling meanswhich are secured to said slideable member so that said shaft whenactuated by said separation means moves relative to said body member andhandling means which are held during actuation.

5. The carrier of claim 1 wherein said flanged member comprises a hollowtubular member with an internal flange having an inner diameter which isless than said washer-type member and said carrier further comprises aspring biased U-shaped member, which is engaged by said flange as saidcarrier engages said tubular member and which assists is securing saidflange.

6. The carrier of claim 5 wherein in the secured position said flange issecured between said washer-type member as abutted by said slideablemember and said U-shaped member.

7. A portable carrier adapted to be inserted into locking engagementwithin a pirn which has an inner annular flange in which the carriercomprises:

a body portion;

a shaft secured to said body member distant from the forward entry endof said shaft;

an intermediate cylindrical member circumferentially mounted on theshaft having forward and rear portions;

a flexible washer member circumferentially connected to the shaft injuxtaposition to the forward portion of said intermediate member;

a cylindrical stabilizing collar generally U-shape in cross sectionmounted in part around the rear portion of said intermediate member;

a first spring means circumferentially disposed around said shaft andextending between said washer member and the rear portion of saidintermediate member to bias said washer member against said forwardportion of said intermediate member;

a second spring means circumferentially disposed around said rearportion of said intermediate member and positioned between said body andsaid collar to force said collar to the approximate position of saidwasher member, whereby when the annular flange of a pirn is pressedagainst said collar. the bias of said second spring means may beovercome allowing said collar to be pushed to the rear of said washermember as said washer member flexes to allow said annular flange to passover it, said flange being secured between said collar and said washermember as the pressure against said collar is released. said washermember having returned to an unflexed position abutting against theforward portion of said shaft; and

actuating means connected to said body portion operable to shift saidshaft whereby the bias of said first spring is overcome and said washermember will move away from said forward part of said intermediate memberthus allowing said washer member to be flexed in the opposite directionfrom that when the pirn was inserted thereby allowing said carrier to beremoved from said pirn as said flange passes over said flexed washermember.

1. A carrier designed to securely engage a flanged member comprising: ashaft; a flexible washer-type member, a portion of which is fixedsecurely relative to said shaft and which when in the secured positionabuts against the flange; a member slideably mounted on said shaft whichin the secured position has a portion which abuts against a portion ofsaid washer-type member to prevent it from flexing thus securing theflange; and means communicating with said shaft to separate saidslideable member from the portion of said washer-type member to which itabuts in the secured position thereby allowing said washer-lIke memberto be flexed and the flange disengaged.
 2. The carrier of claim 1 inwhich the flanged member comprises a projection with an external flangeand the carrier further comprises an intermediate member secured to saidshaft, said intermediate member having a portion which has an innerdiameter greater than the outer diameter of said flange and having saidwasher-type member secured thereto with an inner diameter that is lessthan the outer diameter of said flange.
 3. The carrier of claim 2 inwhich a spring extends between a surface of said slideably mountedmember and a surface of said intermediate member and when saidseparation means is actuated said surfaces are drawn closer togetherrelatively as said washer-type member is drawn apart from said portionof said slideable member which abuts against said washer-type member inthe secured position.
 4. The carrier of claim 3 including a body memberand handling means which are secured to said slideable member so thatsaid shaft when actuated by said separation means moves relative to saidbody member and handling means which are held during actuation.
 5. Thecarrier of claim 1 wherein said flanged member comprises a hollowtubular member with an internal flange having an inner diameter which isless than said washer-type member and said carrier further comprises aspring biased U-shaped member, which is engaged by said flange as saidcarrier engages said tubular member and which assists is securing saidflange.
 6. The carrier of claim 5 wherein in the secured position saidflange is secured between said washer-type member as abutted by saidslideable member and said U-shaped member.
 7. A portable carrier adaptedto be inserted into locking engagement within a pirn which has an innerannular flange in which the carrier comprises: a body portion; a shaftsecured to said body member distant from the forward entry end of saidshaft; an intermediate cylindrical member circumferentially mounted onthe shaft having forward and rear portions; a flexible washer membercircumferentially connected to the shaft in juxtaposition to the forwardportion of said intermediate member; a cylindrical stabilizing collargenerally U-shape in cross section mounted in part around the rearportion of said intermediate member; a first spring meanscircumferentially disposed around said shaft and extending between saidwasher member and the rear portion of said intermediate member to biassaid washer member against said forward portion of said intermediatemember; a second spring means circumferentially disposed around saidrear portion of said intermediate member and positioned between saidbody and said collar to force said collar to the approximate position ofsaid washer member, whereby when the annular flange of a pirn is pressedagainst said collar, the bias of said second spring means may beovercome allowing said collar to be pushed to the rear of said washermember as said washer member flexes to allow said annular flange to passover it, said flange being secured between said collar and said washermember as the pressure against said collar is released, said washermember having returned to an unflexed position abutting against theforward portion of said shaft; and actuating means connected to saidbody portion operable to shift said shaft whereby the bias of said firstspring is overcome and said washer member will move away from saidforward part of said intermediate member thus allowing said washermember to be flexed in the opposite direction from that when the pirnwas inserted thereby allowing said carrier to be removed from said pirnas said flange passes over said flexed washer member.